Collateral pick-up and delivery for secured transactions

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for facilitating secured loan transactions are provided. Drivers of a fleet of parcel delivery vehicles associated with a particular common carrier are used to pick up collateral from a borrower to secure a loan. A driver visits the borrower&#39;s address as part of executing parcel delivery transactions to pick up the collateral. The driver may verify the borrower&#39;s identity and the validity of the collateral when receiving the collateral. An indication of the receipt of the borrower&#39;s collateral is provided to a system accessible by a lending facilitator, such as via the driver&#39;s DIAD. The indication can be used by the peer-to-peer lending facilitator to determine a level of risk associated with entering into a loan transaction with the borrower and/or an interest rate for the loan. In some cases, the collateral is delivered to a third party escrow service.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to facilitatingsecured loan transactions and, more particularly, relate to systems andmethods for receiving collateral from borrowers for facilitating securedloan transactions.

BACKGROUND

Over the years, use of the Internet has grown to touch almost everyfacet of people's lives. In the business world, the Internet has beenused to advertise goods and services, receive orders for products, andfacilitate communication within and among businesses. The Internet hasalso become a place where borrowers and lenders can find each other,agree to the terms of a loan transaction, and transfer funds.Peer-to-peer lending websites have thus been developed to facilitatesuch transactions and to provide a forum for borrowers and lenders toconduct business.

In one type of peer-to-peer lending scenario, typically a potentialborrower (e.g., an individual wishing to take out a loan) will post anamount that he wishes to borrow and a maximum interest rate he iswilling to pay. In some cases, the potential borrower may include ashort description of the purpose of the loan, such as to go to college,start a business, or buy a car. A potential lender (e.g., an individualwho is seeking to loan money for interest) can then bid on specificloans by offering to lend the potential borrower some or all of themoney requested by the potential borrower in exchange for a minimuminterest rate specified by the potential lender. A third party, such asa hosting website or web forum, may then match borrowers withappropriate lenders and facilitate the transaction between the parties.

Because such peer-to-peer loan transactions occur in cyberspace, it canbe difficult to fully assess the risks involved in lending money to aparticular borrower. One way that such risks may be reduced is throughthe use of collateral to “secure” the loan. Thus, there is a need forreceiving collateral from a borrower in an efficient and cost-effectivemanner and providing access to the collateral to potential lenders andthird parties so as to facilitate loan transactions.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A system and method are therefore provided for facilitating peer-to-peerloan transactions. In particular, to facilitate a loan transaction witha borrower or potential borrower, a system and method are provided forreceiving property (or certificates of title or ownership or otherdocuments representing a right, title, or interest in property) beingoffered by the borrower or potential borrower as security for the loantransaction (hereinafter referred to as “collateral”). In this way, amore accurate assessment of the risk involved with engaging the party ina loan transaction may be determined based on the receipt of theborrower's collateral.

In one exemplary embodiment, a system for receiving a borrower'scollateral in order to facilitate a loan transaction comprises atransportation system including a fleet of parcel delivery vehicles anda computer system. The computer system includes a data terminal, atleast one server computer, and a communications network for facilitatingcommunication between the data terminal and the at least one servercomputer. The data terminal is configured to receive data relating tothe receipt of the borrower's collateral from an operator of at leastone of the parcel delivery vehicles and to transmit the data to theserver computer via the communications network. Furthermore, the servercomputer is configured to receive the data relating to the collateraland to communicate the data for use in facilitating the loantransaction.

In some cases, the computer system is a first computer system, and thesystem for receiving the borrower's collateral further comprises asecond computer system configured to receive the data from the firstcomputer system in order to facilitate the loan transaction. The secondcomputer system may be configured to access data stored on the firstcomputer system and to determine whether a particular borrower'scollateral has been received. In addition, the first computer system maybe configured to transmit at least a portion of the data including anindication of the receipt of the collateral to the second computersystem. The second computer system may be configured to use at least aportion of the data received from the first computer system in order toassess the risk of engaging the borrower in a loan transaction.

In some embodiments, the computer system may include a databaseconnected to the communications network and configured to store aplurality of data entries regarding parcel delivery transactions. Eachdata entry may include an indication of the receipt of the borrower'scollateral. The server computer may be configured to provide theindication of receipt to the database based on the data received fromthe data terminal.

The data terminal may, in some cases, be a handheld device. Each dataterminal may be configured to receive information instructing a driverof the respective vehicle to visit a particular address associated withthe borrower and specify the collateral to be received. Furthermore, thedata may affect the determination of a value associated with the levelof risk involved in engaging the borrower in a loan transaction.

In some cases, the server computer may be configured to correlate thedata with previously stored information obtained as a result of at leastone parcel delivery transaction associated with the borrower. The servercomputer may also be configured to receive requests from a third partyspecifying the borrower from whom collateral is to be received. Theserver computer may be configured to transmit each request to at leastone particular handheld device associated with a vehicle based on theaddress of the borrower with respect to the planned delivery route to beexecuted by the vehicle.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method and computer program productfor receiving a borrower's collateral in order to facilitate a loantransaction is provided. According to the method, a fleet of vehicles isprovided, and a driver of a particular one of the vehicles is instructedto drive the particular vehicle to an address associated with theborrower as part of a parcel delivery transaction. During the parceldelivery transaction, the driver receives the borrower's collateral, andinformation regarding the receipt of the borrower's collateral isprovided to a system accessible by a lending facilitator.

In some cases, the address associated with the borrower is incorporatedinto the driver's parcel delivery route. The borrower's collateral maybe received when a parcel is received from the borrower for shipment ordelivered to the borrower at the address. For example, in a particularembodiment, the collateral may be a vehicle, and the title for thevehicle may be received when the parcel is received from the borrower ordelivered to the borrower at the address.

As part of receiving the borrower's collateral, the borrower may beasked if he is involved in a loan transaction. Also, the collateral maybe made accessible to a lending facilitator. Making the collateralaccessible may include delivering the collateral to a third party escrowservice affiliated with the lending facilitator or delivering thecollateral to the loan facilitator. In some embodiments, the borrower'sidentity may be validated by confirming the borrower's association withthe address. Receipt of the collateral may be recorded via a handhelddevice.

The validity of the collateral may be verified. In one embodiment inwhich the collateral is property (e.g., a vehicle) and a documentrepresenting a right, title, or interest in the property (e.g., thevehicle title) is being made accessible to the lending facilitator, theverification may include visually verifying that the borrower's namematches the name on the document. In other cases, the verification mayinclude comparing information obtained by the driver regarding theborrower as a result of receiving the collateral to informationregarding the borrower as a consignor or consignee of a parcel deliverytransaction.

In some embodiments, providing the information regarding the receipt ofthe borrower's collateral includes transmitting data to a computersystem via a handheld device. The information may be provided bywirelessly transmitting the data from the handheld device to the vehicleor by wirelessly transmitting the data from the handheld device to thesystem. Furthermore, an indication of receipt may be provided to anentity that uses the indication to assess the risk of engaging theborrower in a loan transaction.

In some cases, a request to receive the collateral from the borrower isreceived. In addition, the borrower may be contacted to schedule thereceipt of the collateral.

Therefore, as described below in greater detail, a system and method areprovided for receiving collateral from a borrower in order to facilitateloan transactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a scenario in which a party whose collateral is to beobtained is a consignor or consignee of a parcel delivery transactionaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a scenario in which a party whose collateral is to beobtained is not a consignor or consignee of a parcel deliverytransaction according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3A depicts a delivery route according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3B depicts the delivery route of FIG. 3A in tabular form accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a network diagram of a system for recording receipt of aparty's collateral via a network according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial view of a data terminal for receiving andtransmitting data according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 illustrates information in a database including an indication ofthe receipt of collateral according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an extraction of secured borrower entries from onetable to a second table according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a method for facilitating securedloan transactions according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout.

Systems, methods, and computer program products of various embodimentsof the present invention provide for receiving a party's collateral forfacilitating secured loan transactions. In general, fleet vehicledrivers (e.g., drivers of vehicles within a fleet of parcel deliveryvehicles associated with a particular common carrier) are used tocollect the property being offered to secure the loan transaction ordocuments representing a right, title, or interest in the property(e.g., vehicle title).

The collateral, or at least an indication of the receipt of thecollateral, is then made accessible to a lending facilitator, such as apeer-to-peer lending facilitator. For example, as described below, thecollateral may be delivered to a third party escrow service affiliatedwith the lending facilitator. Alternatively, the common carrier itselfmay provide an escrow service. In such an embodiment, the commoncarrier, upon collecting the collateral, may store the collateral in itswarehousing facilities while the property is being used to secure theloan. The lending facilitator may, in turn, use information regardingthe receipt of the collateral to determine the risk involved withlending funds to a particular individual and may present the riskassessment and/or collateral description to potential borrowers andlenders. By providing an indication of the risk involved with loaningmoney to a certain individual, the lending facilitator can helppotential lenders determine the appropriate amount of interest to chargeand inform the lender's decision on whether to engage a particularborrower in a loan transaction.

In the past, peer-to-peer lending websites have assessed the risks (orrelied on a third-party's assessment of the risks) associated withentering into a loan with a particular potential borrower based on thepotential borrower's credit history and other financial data. However,when a loan transaction occurs entirely (or almost entirely) incyberspace, some risk factors may not be easy to identify. For example,a potential borrower may misidentify himself as a different individualin order to qualify for low interest rates or to fraudulently obtainmoney that he has no intention of repaying. By providing for thesecuritization of the loan as described below, the risk of entering intoa particular loan transaction “on-line” may be reduced.

At the same time, a potential borrower may wish to offer collateral tosecure a loan in an effort to obtain a lower interest rate. Thus,providing a way for borrowers to easily apply collateral to a loan mayprovide an additional level of security to the loan and allow the loanfacilitator to offer or set a lower interest rate for the loan.

According to various embodiments, collateral owned by the party (e.g.,the borrower or potential borrower) is picked up from an addressassociated with the party. The identity of the borrower, as well as thevalidity of the collateral, may also be confirmed (e.g., by confirmingthat the address is the borrower's residence), and an indication of thereceipt of the collateral may be provided to third parties. For example,once the borrower has provided collateral, he may be listed as havingprovided collateral to secure a current or future loan, or the name ofthe borrower may be made available to a third party requestor once theborrower's collateral has been received, as described more fully below.Although it is understood that various types of collateral may bereceived according to the described embodiments, the description thatfollows refers mostly to the receipt of collateral in the form of anautomobile title. However, as noted above, it should be understood thatthe same or similar techniques could be used for receiving various othertypes of collateral for securing the loans of individuals or businesses.Such collateral may include, for example, real or personal property orcertificates of title or ownership or other documents representing aright, title or interest in the property being offered as security forthe loan transaction. For example, types of personal property that maybe offered as collateral may also include coins, jewelry, musicalinstruments, or tools.

In various embodiments, the carrier may deliver the collateral to anescrow agent to hold in escrow while the collateral is being used tosecure a particular loan. In other embodiments, the carrier may act asan escrow agent and hold the collateral in escrow while the collateralis being used to secure the loan.

Visiting the Borrower

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, collateral for securing a borrower'sloan can be received in many ways. In some embodiments, the collateralis picked-up by the driver of one of a fleet of parcel delivery vehiclesduring the course of normal operation, such as when the vehicle is enroute from a shipment origin (such as the consignor's address or commoncarrier distribution center) to a delivery destination (such as theconsignee's address or common carrier distribution center). In thisscenario, the borrower whose collateral is being received may be theconsignor or the consignee. Alternatively, the borrower may be someoneother than the consignor or the consignee, but may be located along orclose to the delivery route of a particular parcel delivery vehicle, asdescribed in greater detail below.

Borrower is a Consignor or Consignee

In some cases, the borrower whose collateral is to be received may bethe consignor or the consignee in a parcel delivery transaction. In atypical parcel delivery transaction, multiple parcel delivery vehiclesmay be involved in transporting a parcel from the consignor to theconsignee. In some cases, the parcel delivery vehicles may be owned bythe same common carrier, whereas in other cases more than one commoncarrier may be involved. Furthermore, a single parcel delivery vehiclemay pick up several parcels from several different consignors and/ordeliver parcels to several different consignees. In some cases, aparticular parcel delivery vehicle may pick up parcels from differentconsignors and deliver the parcels to a distribution center associatedwith a common carrier, where the parcels may be sorted and loaded ontoother delivery vehicles for transportation to the various consigneelocations. Similarly, a particular parcel delivery vehicle may pick upseveral parcels from the common carrier's distribution center anddeliver the parcels to the respective consignees.

FIG. 1 depicts a simplified scenario in which a parcel delivery vehicle14 associated with a common carrier is delivering a parcel from aconsignor 10 to a consignee 12. The borrower whose collateral is to bereceived, in this case, may be the consignor 10 or the consignee 12. Inother words, in this example, the borrower is himself either shipping orreceiving a parcel. Thus, in this case, the receipt of collateral mayoccur at the same time that the parcel is picked up from the borrower(as consignor) for shipment, or delivered to the borrower (asconsignee). In other words, because the driver is at the borrower'saddress to execute a delivery transaction (e.g., receive a parcel ordeliver a parcel), the collateral may also be picked up during the sameprocess of shipping or delivering the parcel.

Borrower is not a Consignor or Consignee

In FIG. 2, another scenario is depicted in which a delivery vehiclereceives the collateral of a borrower who is not a consignor 10 or aconsignee 12, but rather is located between or near the locations of aconsignor 10 and a consignee 12. Thus, in FIG. 2, the residence of aborrower 16 is located along or close to the route of the deliveryvehicle 14 as the delivery vehicle 14 travels from a consignor 10 to aconsignee 12. For example, the delivery vehicle 14 in this case may bepicking up one parcel from the consignor 10 and may be deliveringanother, different parcel to the consignee 12. Likewise, in a variationof the scenario shown in FIG. 2, the residence of the borrower 16 may belocated between two consignors or two consignees as the delivery vehicle14 picks up parcels and/or delivers parcels. Either way, the borrower 16in these scenarios is not a consignor 10 or a consignee 12, but ratheris located along/near the delivery route such that it is possible forthe driver to stop at the borrower's address to pick up the borrower'scollateral without substantially deviating from the driver's currentscheduled delivery route.

In some cases, the address of the borrower 16 may be a planned stop onthe driver's route, such that the address becomes part of the route,even though no parcel pick-ups or deliveries are scheduled to take placeat that address. For example, a driver of a particular delivery vehiclemay have a morning route scheduled by the common carrier that includesvarious parcel pick-ups and deliveries, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.FIG. 3A shows a mapped route of the delivery vehicle of this example,and FIG. 3B lists the route in tabular form, showing the various stopsthat the delivery vehicle is to make. In the figures, the address ofeach consignee is designated by an alphanumeric code beginning with theletter “C,” the address of each consignor is designated by analphanumeric code beginning with the letter “S,” and the address of eachborrower whose collateral is to be received is designated by analphanumeric code beginning with the letter “P.” Thus, in thisparticular route, there are two consignors, seven consignees, and twoborrowers.

Although parcels are not being picked up from or delivered to theborrowers P1 and P2 listed on the route in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, theborrowers are incorporated into the route such that the delivery vehiclemay stop at the address of each borrower as part of the parcel deliveryactivities the driver is conducting on behalf of the common carrier.Furthermore, although a borrower's address may not be directly on thedelivery route, the delivery route may be modified to take into accountthe address of the borrower. For example, although P1 is not located ona road where any other consignors or consignees are located, thedriver's route may be modified to include the address of P1 as a stopalong the route, as shown.

Receiving the Borrower's Collateral

After a fleet vehicle delivery driver has arrived at the address of aborrower whose collateral is to be received, the borrower's involvementin a loan transaction and his desire to secure the loan with collateralmay be confirmed. The identity of the borrower and the validity of thecollateral (e.g., the ownership of the collateral by the borrower) mayalso be verified. An indication of the receipt of the collateral maythen be provided to a system accessible by lending facilitators andthird party escrow services, as described below.

Confirming the Borrower's Involvement with a Loan Transaction

As an initial matter, before taking the collateral from the borrower orotherwise receiving the borrower's collateral, the driver may confirmthat the party is indeed involved with a loan transaction (e.g., signedup as a potential borrower with a peer-to-peer lending facilitator) andwishes to secure the loan by handing over collateral. In some cases, thecommon carrier may contact the borrower prior to the driver's arrival,such as by telephone or e-mail, to confirm the borrower's wishes as wellas to set up a date for pick-up of the collateral. In any case, uponarriving at the borrower's address, the driver may ask for the person atissue. Once the person has identified himself, the driver may then askwhether the person has requested to take out a loan via the peer-to-peerwebsite or other lending facilitator at issue and wishes to secure theloan with collateral. Then, if the answer is “yes,” the driver wouldproceed to receive the person's collateral, as described below.Confirming the borrower's involvement with a loan transaction may thusserve to protect the person from a wrongful taking of property.

Receiving the Borrower's Collateral

Regardless of whether the borrower is a consignor or consignee of theparcel delivery transaction or is located on or near the delivery route,several things may occur when the party's collateral is received. Forexample, the driver of the parcel delivery vehicle may validate theborrower's identity by confirming the borrower's association with theaddress, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/397,720,titled “Identity Validation for Financial Transactions,” filed on Mar.4, 2009, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by referenceherein. Thus, the driver may request to see a form of identification,such as a driver's license, a picture identification card, utility bill,or a credit card that includes a picture of the individual. In this way,the driver may visually verify that the party standing before him hasthe same name as the individual represented on the form ofidentification tendered and has the same appearance as the individualpictured on the identification document. For example, the driver mayconfirm that the person standing before him looks like the personpictured on the borrower's driver's license and that the name printed onthe driver's license matches the name of the borrower whose collateralis to be received.

In addition to validating the borrower's identity, the driver may alsoverify the validity of the borrower's collateral. For example, in anembodiment in which the borrower is offering a vehicle to secure theloan transaction, the driver may visually verify that the borrower'sname and/or address (e.g., as provided on a parcel being shipped to theindividual or otherwise provided to the driver as part of theinstructions to receive collateral from the particular borrower) matchesthe name and/or address on the vehicle's title. The driver may alsocheck the title for other indications, such as whether the titleindicates any encumbrances (e.g., existing liens) that would reduce thevalue of the vehicle as collateral. In some cases, the driver may verifythe information obtained by the driver regarding the borrower as aresult of receiving the vehicle title with information regarding theborrower as a consignor or consignee of a parcel delivery transaction.In this regard, the common carrier may have extensive databases ofinformation on the people and businesses that it delivers to and picksup from and may use this information to verify the validity of thetitle.

Providing the Indication of Receipt

In some embodiments, the driver may record the receipt of the collateralby communicating and storing an indication of receipt on a system thatincludes various components communicating via a network, such as thenetwork 22 shown in FIG. 4. In some cases, for example, the network 22could be the Internet. Referring to FIG. 4, the system 20 may include adatabase 24 that is connected to the communications network 22 and isconfigured to store a plurality of data entries regarding parceldelivery transactions and/or other types of data. For example,information such as the name, address, and/or account number ofconsignors and consignees of the common carrier may be stored in thedatabase 24 and maintained by the common carrier. The system 20 may alsoinclude one or more server computers 26 that are associated with acommon carrier. These servers 26 may be configured to access thedatabase 24 via the network 22 in order to update entries and manage thestored information, as necessary.

The system 20 may also include one or more data terminals 28 that areconnected to the communications network 22 and are configured to receiveand transmit data. The data terminal 28 may, for example, be a computer,such as a desktop or laptop computer, a cellular telephone, a barcodescanner, point-of-sale device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), anelectronic signature pad, a handheld device such as a DeliveryInformation Acquisition Device (DIAD), or any other device configured toreceive input either directly or indirectly from a user. For example,the data terminals 28 may be DIADs that are carried by drivers of afleet of delivery vehicles of the common carrier and may be used by thecommon carrier to communicate with each driver, such as to provideinformation to the drivers regarding consignor/consignee names andaddresses and, in some cases, to specify the type of collateral to bereceived from the borrower.

The common carrier server 26 may include and/or be in communication withone or more processors (not shown) configured to access and manipulatethe data in the database 24. The server 26 may therefore be configuredto access the database 24 and to provide an indication of the receipt ofthe borrower's collateral to the database based on the input receivedvia the data terminals 28. The common carrier server 26 may include amemory component for storing data entries regarding parcel deliverytransactions, as well as an indication of the receipt of a borrower'scollateral, and/or the common carrier server 26 may communicate theinformation and indications to the database 24 for storage. In somecases, the database 24 is included in and forms a part of the commoncarrier server 26.

Each data terminal 28 (e.g., each DIAD) may be configured to receive andtransmit input relating to the receipt of a borrower's collateral. Forexample, the data terminal 28 may be configured to receive input from adriver indicating the type of collateral and/or that the informationlisted on the collateral (e.g., the collateral holder's name and/oraddress) matches the borrower's information as provided from othersources (e.g., the common carrier server 26 and/or the database 24).Referring to FIG. 5, the driver may receive a prompt on the screen 30 ofthe data terminal 28 upon visiting the address of a borrower that allowsthe driver to select the type of collateral being received. For example,various types of collateral may be listed, and the driver may beprompted to select one of them. The prompt may also ask whether the namelisted on the collateral matches the name of the borrower, as shown inFIG. 5. The prompt(s) may appear automatically, for example, afterreceiving the party's signature on a DIAD upon receipt or delivery of aparcel if the borrower is a consignor or consignee according to FIG. 1.Alternatively, the driver may cause the prompt(s) to appear by selectingthe name of a borrower from a list of scheduled stops along a routeaccording to FIG. 2, such as the list of stops shown in FIG. 3B.

In various embodiments, the data terminal 28 is adapted to allow thedriver to respond to the prompt(s) by marking a check box 32 orselecting a response from a drop down menu 33 using the keys 34 of thedata terminal or other input mechanism to indicate that the borrower isindeed involved in a loan transaction and that a form of collateral, forexample, was validated and received. Furthermore, the data terminal 28may receive input regarding the type of collateral received and whetherthe borrower's identity and/or the validity of the collateral wereverified. In addition, the data terminal 28 may be configured to receivethe signature of the borrower, affirming that the collateral is validand that the borrower has turned the collateral over to the driver. Theborrower may, for example, use a stylus or other implement to signdirectly on the screen of the data terminal 28, such as the DIAD.

In some cases, the data terminal 28 may include a scanner and/or digitalcamera. In this way, the driver is able to scan or photograph thecollateral and upload the photograph to the database 24. In such anembodiment, a potential lender or his representatives is able to viewthe photograph of the collateral before making a final decision as towhether to loan money to the potential borrower. In one embodiment inwhich an automobile is being offered as security for the loantransaction, the driver may photograph the title for the automobileand/or may photograph the automobile itself.

The DIAD, barcode scanner, or other data terminal 28 may transmit theinput received to the database 24 via the network 22. For example, theDIAD may transmit the data wirelessly (e.g., in real time) via awireless computer network (e.g., via an 802.11 communications protocol),a cellular connection, or a Bluetooth® connection to another device,such as a receiver carried by a vehicle associated with the DIAD (e.g.,the driver's vehicle) and/or the common carrier server 26, which maythen transmit the data to the database 24. As another example, thedriver's vehicle may wirelessly communicate with the DIAD or may includea cradle for docking the DIAD, in which case information received by theDIAD may be uploaded to the common carrier server 26 via the cradle orother transmitter carried by the vehicle. The data may be transmittedany other suitable way, for example, according to the common carrier'spreferences.

In any case, the common carrier server 26 or other processor may beconfigured to receive the input (e.g., the responses of the driver tothe prompts displayed on the data terminal) and to provide an indication40 to the database 24 of the receipt of the borrower's collateral. Theindication may include a designation of the borrower's collateral as“received,” as shown in FIG. 6. In some cases, the indication 40 mayinclude extraction of the particular borrower's information 42 andlisting of the information in a separate database 25 or area of memoryreserved for secured parties (e.g., parties from whom collateral hasbeen received), as shown in FIG. 7. Furthermore, the data may include animage of the collateral, such as a scanned image or photograph of thevehicle and/or title for the vehicle. In some cases, the indication 40itself may provide access to the image of the collateral. For example,the indication 40 may be a link to a picture of the collateral, suchthat clicking on the indication 40 allows the user to view a copy of thecollateral.

The common carrier server 26 may, in some cases, be configured tocorrelate the input received from the data terminal 28 with dataregarding one or more parcel delivery transactions associated with theborrower. For example, the server 26 may be configured to compare theinformation entered by driver (e.g., the collateral holder's name andaddress) to data already stored in the database 24 regarding theborrower as consignor or consignee (e.g., the consignee's name anddelivery address, obtained as a result of previous parcel deliverytransactions with the borrower as a consignee). As a result, the commoncarrier server 26 may be configured to determine whether the collateralis valid (e.g., whether the collateral holder and the borrower are thesame) and may inform the driver via the data terminal 28.

Referring again to FIG. 6, in some cases, the database 24 may includeinformation 42 regarding a consignor's name and address for a particulardelivery that is to be conducted by the driver. When the consignor(e.g., whose collateral is to be received) turns over his collateral tothe driver, the driver may transmit the name and address printed on thecollateral to the common carrier server 26 by entering the name andaddress into the data terminal 28. The server 26 may then access thepreviously stored information from the database 24 and compare it to thecollateral holder's information. If the consignor name matches thecollateral holder's name and the consignor's address matches thecollateral holder's address, for example, the server 26 may save, to thesystem's memory, an indication 40 of the receipt of the borrower'scollateral.

Providing the Information and/or Collateral to Third Parties

Once the borrower's collateral has been received by a driver and theindication 40 of receipt has been recorded (e.g., within a database 24),the information may be accessed for use by, for example, third parties.In this regard, in various embodiments, the system 20 (or at least partsof the system 20) shown in FIG. 4 may be accessible by third-partysystems that are configured to facilitate loan transactions, such asthird party escrow services and peer-to-peer lending websites. In thisway, a third-party loan facilitator, such as a company managing apeer-to-peer lending website, can access the collateral information anduse the information to determine a level of risk associated withengaging the borrower in a peer-to-peer loan transaction (e.g., lendingmoney to a particular borrower or borrowing money from a particularlender).

For example, referring to FIG. 4, one or more lending facilitatorservers 30 may be connected to the communications network 22 and may beconfigured to access portions of the database 24 or common carrierserver 26 to determine whether collateral has been received fromparticular parties. In some embodiments, the lending facilitator server30 or common carrier server 26 may be configured to search the databasefor a particular borrower and determine whether the borrower'sinformation is associated with an indication of the receipt of thecollateral. In other embodiments, the common carrier server 26 may beconfigured to transmit information regarding “secured” borrowers to thelending facilitator server 30. Thus, the lending facilitator server 30may incorporate the indication of receipt of the borrower's collateral(or lack thereof) as one of the factors informing the determination of alevel of risk associated with the particular borrower, which may in turnaffect the interest rate associated with a loan to the particularborrower.

For example, the lending facilitator server 30 may be configured toobtain financial histories and credit scores from other sources, such asa credit information server 36 maintained by a credit bureau, and mayuse such statistics to give a borrower a risk rating score. The lendingfacilitator server 30 may also be configured to determine whether theborrower has put up any collateral (e.g., by communicating with thecommon carrier server 26). If the collateral has been received, thelending facilitator server 30 may modify the risk rating score toreflect less risk associated with entering into a loan transaction withthe borrower as the loan would be (at least partially) secured. Ifcollateral has not been received, the lending facilitator server 30 maymodify the risk rating score to reflect more risk associated withentering into the loan transaction as the loan would be unsecured.

For example, the lending facilitator server 30 may issue a score of Afor Excellent, B for Good, C for Fair, and D for Poor based solely oninformation acquired regarding the borrower's credit risk. Uponincorporating the indication of receipt of collateral 40 recorded in thedatabase 24 and/or transmitted by the common carrier server 26, however,the lending facilitator server 30 may modify the risk rating to A+ forthose parties with Excellent credit scores and collateral, B+ for thoseparties with Good credit scores and collateral, and so on. The lendingfacilitator server 30 may also provide information regarding thecollateral available to secure the loan, such as the type of collateral,the approximate market value of the collateral, and/or a photograph ofthe collateral, which may also affect the risk calculation.

The rating and/or other information, in turn, may be displayed on thepeer-to-peer lending website such that prospective borrowers and lendersmay be able to view the ratings and information associated with variousborrowers listed on the website. For example, a prospective lender mayoperate a user terminal 46 connected (directly or indirectly) to thenetwork 22 to view the ratings and information associated with variousborrowers looking to obtain a loan. By considering the ratings alongwith other information describing the parties and the respective loansrequested, a lender may be able to decide whether she wishes to loan anamount of money to a particular borrower.

As mentioned above, in some cases, the lending facilitator server 30 oranother server in communication with the lending facilitator server 30may be configured to calculate the value of the collateral received. Bycomparing the value of the collateral with the amount of the requestedloan, the lending facilitator server 30 or other server may determinethe percentage of the loan that is secured, which may in turn affect therisk calculation as well as the calculated interest rate for the loan.

In addition to providing the indication 40 of receipt of the collateralto third parties, the common carrier may also provide the collateralitself, such as by delivering the collateral to a third party escrowservice or the lending facilitator. In this case, for example, the thirdparty escrow service may be treated, by the carrier, as a consignee towhom the collateral is delivered as a parcel. Thus, the delivery of thecollateral to the third party may be scheduled and incorporated into adriver's route in a manner similar to any other delivery to a consignee.If the collateral is delivered to a third party escrow service, thelending facilitator (such as a peer-to-peer lending website) may haveaccess to the collateral being held by the third party escrow servicesuch that if the borrower defaults on the loan, the lender would be ableto take the collateral in an attempt to offset at least some of thelosses associated with the defaulted loan. Alternatively, the commoncarrier may itself store the collateral, thereby acting as the escrowagent.

In some cases, the common carrier server 26 may be configured to receiverequests from the third party server indicating the borrower from whomcollateral is to be received. For example, the lending facilitatorserver 30 may transmit a request to the common carrier server 26indicating that collateral is to be received from Mr. John J. Borrower.The request may be the result of an offer by Mr. Borrower to secure hisloan in order to achieve a lower interest rate, for example. Similarly,the request may be generated to satisfy requirements for a loan as aresult of a new application for a loan initiated by Mr. Borrower. Forexample, the request may be generated automatically when Mr. Borrowersigns up on the peer-to-peer lending website to apply for a loan.

Thus, the common carrier server 26 may be configured to query thedatabase 24 for entries matching the requested borrower. If the entriesare not found, then the common carrier server 26 may be configured totransmit the request for collateral to at least one particular dataterminal 28 (e.g., a DIAD) based on the address of the borrower and theplanned delivery route to be executed by the user of the DIAD. Theborrower may be contacted by the common carrier (such as by e-mail ortelephone) to schedule the pick-up before incorporating the borrower'saddress into the driver's route in order to ensure that the borrower andthe collateral will be available.

For example, referring to FIG. 3A, Mr. John J. Borrower may reside at 28Oval St. (near consignee C7). Thus, in the case where an entry for Mr.John J. Borrower is not found in the database 24 (e.g., because Borrowerhas not turned over any collateral), the common carrier may contactBorrower to schedule a date for the pick-up. The common carrier server26 may then incorporate a stop at Borrower's address into the driver'sroute for the agreed upon day, shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, based on theproximity of Borrower's address to other addresses along the driver'sroute that day. In this way, the driver's route may include Borrower'saddress as a stop along the route, along with instructions to the driverto receive collateral from Borrower.

A particular method for facilitating secured loan transactions issummarized in FIG. 8. Referring to Blocks 100 and 102 of FIG. 8, a fleetof vehicles is provided and a driver of one of the vehicles isinstructed to visit an address associated with the borrower as part of aparcel delivery transaction. The address of a borrower whose collateralis to be received is then visited by the driver. As described above, theborrower may also be a consignor or consignee, and so the visit may becoincident with a parcel delivery transaction, such as the pick-up ordelivery of a parcel. In other cases, the borrower may be visited aspart of the execution of a delivery route, such as when the borrower islocated on or near a delivery route but is not a consignor or consignee.

The borrower's collateral is then received, for example, by the driverof a parcel delivery vehicle. See block 104. When receiving thecollateral, the driver, for example, may also verify the identity of theborrower and/or verify the validity of the collateral. The driver mayask the borrower if the borrower is involved with a loan transaction forwhich he wishes to provide collateral. In an embodiment in which theborrower is offering a vehicle as security for the loan and is providingthe driver with the title for the vehicle, the driver may visuallyverify the borrower's name by comparing it to the name printed on thetitle. In some cases, the validity of the title may be verifiedautomatically by comparing the information on the title to informationregarding a consignor or consignee of a parcel delivery transaction,such as when information has previously been stored regarding theborrower as a consignor or consignee as a result of a parcel deliverytransaction, as described above.

In block 106, an indication of the receipt of the borrower's collateralis provided to a third party. The third party may be a peer-to-peerwebsite that uses the indication to assess the risk of extending a loanto the respective borrower and/or calculates an interest rate for thesecured loan. In this regard, the value of the collateral may bedetermined and factored into the calculation of the risk and/or theinterest rate. As another example, the indication may be made accessibleto a server computer of a peer-to-peer lending website, which may thenincorporate the indication into its assessment of the risk involved withentering into a loan transaction with the borrower, as described above.As previously described, the indication may comprise input transmittedby the driver in the previous example (e.g., via a handheld device, suchas a DIAD) to a common carrier server.

In some cases, a request to pick up the borrower's collateral may bereceived, thereby causing a common carrier to instruct a driver to visitthe address of the requested borrower. See block 108. The request may,for example, be initiated by the peer-to-peer lending facilitator. Sucha request received by the common carrier server may be relayed to one ormore particular drivers in the field based on the address of theborrower with respect to the driver's route. In some cases, the commoncarrier may contact the borrower ahead of time to schedule anappropriate date for picking up the collateral before incorporating theborrower's address into a driver's route. See block 110. In this way,the driver may visit the address and receive the collateral in responseto the request without substantially deviating from the driver'sscheduled delivery route while also minimizing the risk that theborrower and/or the collateral will be unavailable.

Once the collateral is received, the common carrier may deliver thecollateral to a third party, such as a third party escrow service. Seeblock 112. In this way, the third party may hold the collateral suchthat if the borrower defaults on the secured loan, the lender will beable to take at least some of the collateral in order to apply its valueto the balance of the defaulted loan. Alternatively, the common carriermay act as the escrow service and may store the collateral in its ownfacilities.

The steps described above need not occur in the order shown in FIG. 8 ordiscussed above. Rather, the steps may occur in any order according tothe configuration of the system and the preferences of the commoncarrier and/or peer-to-peer website administrator. For example, in somecases, the collateral may be delivered to the third party before or atthe same time that the indication of receipt of collateral istransmitted. Furthermore, the methods described above may be implementedusing fleets of vehicles other than fleets of delivery vehicles, forloans other than peer-to-peer loans, and in contexts other than lending.For example, the methods described above may be used by companies thatprovide short-term loans secured by cars or other collateral.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseembodiments pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. A system for receiving a borrower's collateral for facilitating aloan transaction comprising: a transportation system including a fleetof parcel delivery vehicles; and a computer system comprising: at leastone data terminal; at least one server computer; and a communicationsnetwork for facilitating communication between the data terminal and theserver computer, wherein: the data terminal is configured to receivedata relating to the receipt of the borrower's collateral from anoperator of at least one of the parcel delivery vehicles, and totransmit the data to the server computer via the communications network;and the server computer is configured to receive the data relating tothe collateral and to communicate the data for use in facilitating theloan transaction.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer systemis a first computer system, and wherein the system for receiving aborrower's collateral further comprises a second computer systemconfigured to receive the data from the first computer system in orderto facilitate the loan transaction.
 3. The system of claim 2, whereinthe second computer system is configured to access data stored on thefirst computer system and to determine whether a particular borrower'scollateral has been received.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein thefirst computer system is configured to transmit at least a portion ofthe data to the second computer system, the data comprising anindication of the receipt of the collateral.
 5. The system of claim 2,wherein the second computer system is configured to use at least aportion of the data received from the first computer system to assessthe risk of engaging the borrower in a loan transaction.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein the computer system comprises a database connectedto the communications network and configured to store a plurality ofdata entries regarding parcel delivery transactions, wherein each dataentry includes an indication of the receipt of the borrower'scollateral.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the server computer isconfigured to provide the indication of receipt to the database based onthe data received from the data terminal.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the data terminal is a handheld computing device.
 9. The systemof claim 1, wherein the data terminal is configured to receiveinformation instructing a driver of the respective vehicle to visit aparticular address associated with the borrower and specifying acollateral to be received.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the dataaffects the determination of a value associated with the level of riskinvolved in engaging the borrower in a loan transaction.
 11. The systemof claim 1, wherein the server computer is configured to correlate thedata with previously stored information obtained as a result of at leastone parcel delivery transaction associated with the borrower.
 12. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the server computer is configured to receiveat least one request from a third party specifying the borrower fromwhom collateral is to be received.
 13. The system of claim 12, whereinthe server computer is configured to transmit the request to at leastone particular handheld device associated with a vehicle based on theaddress of the borrower with respect to the planned delivery route to beexecuted by the vehicle.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein thecollateral comprises at least one of personal property or a documentrepresenting a right, title, or interest in the property being offeredby the borrower to secure the loan.
 15. The system of claim 1, whereinthe collateral comprises at least one of real property or a documentrepresenting a right, title, or interest in the property being offeredby the borrower to secure the loan.
 16. A method of receiving aborrower's collateral in order to facilitate a loan transactioncomprising: providing a fleet of vehicles; instructing a driver of aparticular one of the vehicles to drive the particular vehicle to anaddress associated with the borrower as part of a parcel deliverytransaction; receiving, by the driver during the parcel deliverytransaction, the borrower's collateral; and after said receiving step,providing information regarding the receipt of the borrower's collateralto a system accessible by a lending facilitator.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein the step of instructing the driver comprises incorporatingthe address into the driver's parcel delivery route.
 18. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the step of receiving the borrower's collateralcomprises receiving a parcel from the borrower for shipment ordelivering the parcel to the borrower at the address.
 19. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the collateral is a vehicle.
 20. The method of claim16, wherein the step of receiving the borrower's collateral comprisesasking the borrower if the borrower is involved in a loan transaction.21. The method of claim 16 further comprising making the collateralaccessible to a lending facilitator.
 22. The method of claim 21, whereinthe step of making the collateral accessible comprises delivering thecollateral to a third party escrow service affiliated with the lendingfacilitator.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of making thecollateral accessible comprises delivering the collateral to the loanfacilitator.
 24. The method of claim 16 further comprising validatingthe borrower's identity by confirming the borrower's association withthe address.
 25. The method of claim 16 further comprising recordingreceipt of the collateral via a handheld device.
 26. The method of claim16 further comprising verifying the validity of the collateral.
 27. Themethod of claim 26, wherein the step of verifying the validity of thecollateral comprises visually verifying that the borrower's name matchesthe name on the collateral.
 28. The method of claim 26, wherein the stepof verifying the validity of the collateral comprises comparinginformation obtained by the driver regarding the borrower as a result ofreceiving the collateral to information regarding the borrower as aconsignor or consignee of a parcel delivery transaction.
 29. The methodof claim 16, wherein the step of providing the information comprisestransmitting data to a computer system via a handheld device.
 30. Themethod of claim 29, wherein the step of providing the informationcomprises wirelessly transmitting the data from the handheld device tothe vehicle.
 31. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of providingthe information comprises wirelessly transmitting the data from thehandheld device to the system.
 32. The method of claim 16, wherein thestep of providing the information comprises providing an indication ofreceipt to an entity that uses the indication to assess the risk ofengaging the borrower in a loan transaction.
 33. The method of claim 16further comprising receiving a request to receive the collateral fromthe borrower.
 34. The method of claim 16 further comprising contactingthe borrower to schedule the receipt of the collateral.
 35. A computerprogram product comprising at least one computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program code portions stored therein, thecomputer-readable program code portions comprising: a first executableportion for providing instructions to a handheld device associated witha driver of a particular vehicle of a fleet of parcel delivery vehicles,wherein the instructions instruct the driver to drive to an addressassociated with a borrower as part of a parcel delivery transaction; asecond executable portion for receiving from the handheld deviceinformation regarding receipt of the borrower's collateral by thedriver; and a third executable portion for communicating informationregarding the borrower's collateral to a lending facilitator.
 36. Thecomputer program product of claim 35 further comprising a fourthexecutable portion for verifying the validity of the borrower'scollateral by comparing the information received from the handhelddevice to information regarding the borrower as a consignor or consigneeof a parcel delivery transaction.